First Psychology blog

There have been a number of high profile cases of domestic abuse against women in the press recently and as today is International Day of Elimination of Violence Against Women, we thought we'd talk a bit about domestic violence. It can be easy to think that victims of domestic abuse can simply leave the situation, however often domestic abuse starts some time into a relationship when an emotional attachment has been established. For women, it may begin at a time of vulnerability, such as during pregnancy, and the woman may feel she has no choice but to stay with her partner, hoping it is a one-off. Often there is a period following the abusive behaviour when the perpetrator apologises for their behaviour and promises never to do it again and the victim may want to give things another try, hoping it will get better. However, this pattern of behaviour can continue for years and the victim may slowly lose confidence and begin to believe she is somehow to blame.  Women often...

It is well documented that men seek psychological help far less than women even though they encounter as many mental health problems. Each June in the run up to Father’s Day we celebrate Men’s Health Week with the sole purpose of trying to increase awareness of preventable health problems and to encourage early detection and treatment of disease amongst men and boys. In honour of Men’s Health Week this year from 11-17 June, we are going to look at how some mental health issues, which are traditionally thought to be women’s problems, can affect men too. While the rate of self-harm is higher in women, it is four times more likely to lead to suicide in men. Although the triggers for men and women are similar, i.e. abuse in childhood, domestic violence, breakdown of a relationship, problems with alcohol and employment, self-harm is becoming a growing issue for men, particularly those aged 20 to 35. Self-harm includes overdosing, swallowing chemicals like bleach, and cutting, gouging or scr...

Ewan Gillon is to give a talk on the Scots hard man image and its contribution to domestic violence at a Domestic Abuse Conference tomorrow. The conference is being run by the Scottish Police Violence Reduction Unit. For an article about the lecture see: http://news.stv.tv/scotland/239384-curb-scots-hard-man-image-to-curb-domestic-violence-says-expert/

We are really pleased to be working with  Rowen Alba, a charity working with vulnerable people,  to provide a cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) service for women who have experienced domestic abuse and presently moving into their own home. This service is designed specifically to meet the needs of Rowen Alba clients, and reflects the specific and distinct needs of this community. The service is located in the Edinburgh Psychology Centre (www.edinburghtherapy.co.uk), and led by Tasim Martin, Chartered Psychologist.